From the Ashes
by The-girl-you-wish-you-knew
Summary: This is my take on how I think ATLA should have ended and how I think it would have continued after the last episode. This story will show how Zuko and Aang work to rebuild and Zuko coping with Mai leaving and eventually moving on. Most of it will be in Zuko's POV and will feature Zutara. Sorry I'm bad at these.
The war that had seemed so endless had finally ended. Aang had defeated Firelord Ozai in an epic battle that would be passed down for generations to come. Taking away his bending and leaving him very much alive, the former Firelord would live out the rest of his days in a lowly dungeon cell. That might have even been too good for him but despite taking away his honor and being much less than a father to him, Zuko couldn't completely turn his back on his family. No matter how dysfunctional they were. He thought of the events that had taken them to the end of the 100 Year War. With Katara's help, Azula had been defeated and Zuko would now take his rightful place as Firelord. It was a lot to process all at once. But, Zuko was thankful for his friends and was ready to right one hundred years worth of wrongs done by his ancestors. After her defeat, Zuko ordered Azula be locked in a room, guarded at all times. He didn't know what happened for sure, but he knew something snapped in her before their Agni Kai. He paused in his thoughts, groaning as he struggled to get his robes on for his coronation. His sister had really did a number on him with that lightning bolt.

"You need some help with that?" a familiar voice asked him.

"Mai! You're okay!" Zuko looked up and smiled as the pale girl came over to help him into his robe. "They let you out of prison?"

"My uncle may have pulled some strings," she said, smiling back at him. As he smiled back, her expression quickly turned sour as she looked away. "While I was imprisoned, I did a lot of thinking."

"About?" Zuko asked, expectantly.

"I'm leaving."

The prince was shocked. "What do you mean you're leaving?" he demanded.

"I mean," she said, tightly -a bit _too_ tightly- tying his robe, obviously angry, "I haven't really gotten to see the world on my own. While I was with your sister, we moved around, sure but I never got to go off and explore. I need to find my place and I'm not sure it's here in the Fire Nation. Now that I can freely travel and move around, I want to see the world."

"You hate the world," Zuko pointed out, almost bitterly.

"The war is over, Zuko. I'm free to go anywhere I please without being hated or in disguise. Maybe I hated the world when I was forced to fight in a war, not even completely sure I was on the right side but now, I can go out and truly see and understand the other nations. So, I'm leaving."

Zuko looked down at her. He couldn't be mad but, he wasn't sure how to respond. Mai broke the silence. "

"I'm glad you joined the Avatar but this time, I want to leave on good terms," she said before hugging him. "I don't plan on coming back."

"I know."

"So, good luck Firelord Zuko," she said, kissing his cheek and turning to leave.

"Good luck, Mai." But she was already gone for good.

-(Line Break)-

The prince didn't plan on Mai departure but he didn't want it to ruin his coronation. He finished getting ready and gave himself a cursory glance before heading down to be crowned Firelord. While he still disliked his scar, he didn't hate it. It was no longer the mark of the banished prince but a symbol of his strength and his honor. He smiled at his reflection, satisfied knowing that even with this new loss, he would be one of the greatest Firelord's in Fire Nation history and he knew for certain, he would be a better Firelord than his father.

By the door, he saw Aang meditating. Sensing a presence, te Avatar opened his eyes.

"I can't believe a year ago, my purpose in life was hunting you down," said the soon-to-be-Firelord.

"And now we're friends," said the Avatar, smiling.

"Yeah, we are friends," Zuko said, sheepishly.

Aang began to stand, saying, "I can't believe a year ago, I was still frozen in a block of ice. The world's so different now."

"And it's gonna be even more different. We'll rebuild it together."

The two hugged before stepping out to face the three surviving nations. Zuko was worried how his people would receive him after one hundred years of hared and propaganda. He knew there would be some that would oppose him because of that, but he was ready to handle it. To his surprise, everyone immediately outside the palace cheered upon the sight of him and the Avatar.

Zuko stepped into the sunlight as a Fire Sage rang the large gong. The crowd began to cheer before Zuko raised his hand to silence them.

"Please," he began. "The real hero is the Avatar."

Zuko moved aside as Aang came out to see the nations standing side by side in peace. As he looked onto the crowd, he could see their friends. Toph was cheering, finally reunited with some old friends and Sokka and Katara were finally reunited with their father. Zuko noticed this too, catching Katara's eye and smiling at her.

"Today, this war is finally over!" Zuko exclaimed, the crowd loudly cheering in response. Once it died down a bit, he continued. "I promised my uncle I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation, and I will. The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided but with the Avatar's help, we can get it back on the right path and begin a new era of love and peace."

Zuko kneeled down as a Fire Sage approached him, crown in hand.

"All hail Firelord Zuko."

* * *

AN: I will try and put these at the beginning of chapters, primarily but, let me know what you think.

This is a story I wrote down in a notebook a long time ago. I'm revising it and publishing it here when I see a chapter is fit to be published. I would also like some feedback on this, originally, this was to be a Zuko X OC pairing but I'm considering making this a Zutara fanfic. So let me know what you think about that.

All feedback is appreciated!

Thank you! -Ash


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